The Fallback

Deep down, there's something we'd all kill for. I know I would. I know I have. I know I will. Recovering addict Eric Johnstone is turning his life around until one small moment sends him down a dark path. Just months after he takes a job at the retirement village in Point Imlay, the ebbing tide reveals Eric's body, trussed to the town's oyster beds. When Senior Detective John Darken's business card is discovered in the dead man's pocket, J.D. transfers to Point Imlay to help with the investigation. But J.D.'s life is in shambles: his job is precarious, his marriage is on the rocks, and his past haunts him constantly. Two men whose lives are entwined - but how does one end up dead? Together, J.D. and homicide detective Emma Capsteen - another unwelcome new face in the sleepy seaside town - work to unravel the final days of Eric's life. But instead of answers, all they uncover are more questions. Why does a local bikie have free reign? What are the residents at Seascape Gardens retirement village hiding? And, in a town whose beating heart is community, why isn't anyone prepared to tell the truth?

David Hicks is a police officer with the Victorian Police. In his twenty-five years of service he has been on the frontline of everything from drug busts to serious collisions and all manner of violent crime, a job which he describes as giving him a front seat to crime and humanity in all its colour. Through his stories, David hopes to challenge readers to examine the line between good and evil, and how circumstance can alter a person's life in the blink of an eye. David lives in Geelong with his wife and two children. He is the author of The Devil Inside (2020) and The Fallback (2022).